VCU Wins Season Opener over Wildcats 77-51
Virginia Commonwealth University (1-0) had four players score in double figures and the Rams hit 11 three-pointers to beat the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 77-51 in the season opener for both teams.
'We were beat by a much better team tonight," said B-CU Head Coach Cliff Reed. "They (VCU) were more experienced and they had more players that could make plays. They are big and talented and well coached. We will go through the growing pains with our new guys and right now we just have one player who can make plays for us. They pressed the whole game and it wore us down in the second half."
VCU was 24-10 in 2008-2009 and return four starters from last year's CAA Conference tournament champion and NCAA qualifier. Point guard Joey Rodriguez led the team with 17 points and hit three long range three-pointers in the win.
The Wildcats (0-1) were led by sophomore guard C. J. Reed with 21 points and junior forward Alexander Starling registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Click here to read more at BCUathletics.com.
Eagles Open Season with Victory over Lincoln (Pa.)
BALTIMORE -- Coppin State opened the 2009-10 season with a victory over Lincoln (Pa.) as sophomore Lenny Young scored a career-high 18 points to lead the Eagles to a 76-69 win over the Lions in the Coppin State Classic.
Young helped the Eagles build a big early advantage as he scored 17 of his 18 points in the first half as CSU took a 40-25 lead into the intermission.
Lincoln hoisted up 20 three-point attempts in the first half, but made only four on its way to shooting 23.3 percent from the floor.
Coppin State, which opened the season with a victory for the third straight season, also received 12 points and six rebounds from Kareem Brown and eight points and eight rebounds from Ceslovas Kucinskas.
Young capped an 11-1 run midway through the first half with a three-point basket that pushed the Coppin State lead to 34-17 with 4:35 left in the period.
To read more, visit CoppinStatesports.com.
UMES Falls to Stony Brook, 75-57, In Season Opener
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team started the game strong, but failed to capitalize on free throw opportunities as they lost 75-57 to Stony Brook University on Friday at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center.
Redshirt sophomore Hillary Haley led the Hawks in scoring with 13 points, who began the season 0-1. Redshirt freshman Mark Robertson also scored in double digits with 10 points, nine of which came in the first half.
The score went back and forth between the teams through the first 14 minutes of the game, but in the last minutes of the first half, the Seawolves started to break away.
UMES led by six at the 13-minute mark, which was their highest lead of the game. SBU led by 12 going into the locker room at half time with a score of 40-28.
Read more, visit UMEShawks.com.
Reggie Holmes drops game-high 23 points as Bears win over Albany, 69-65
ALBANY, N.Y. - Reggie Holmes scored 23 points and DeWayne Jackson's steal and slam dunk put his team ahead in the final five minutes in leading Morgan State to a 69-65 victory over UAlbany on Friday evening at SEFCU Arena.
The win marked Morgan State's first season-opener win since dropping Lincoln (91-50) in 1988.
In a second half that featured five lead changes and four ties, UAlbany (0-2) reversed a 46-42 deficit with 11 unanswered. Tim Ambrose, a 6-foot junior who had 14 of his 21 points after the break, drew his team even with a pair of free throws. Freshman guard Mike Black followed with a driving layup and a three-point play when he was fouled while converting a fastbreak opportunity.
Ambrose's jumper from left of the lane gave his club a 53-46 advantage with 12:30 remaining.
Read more, click here at MORGANSTATEBears.com.
Dunn's 32 Lift Baylor Past NSU, 86-58
WACO, Texas- LaceDarius Dunn scored a game-high 32 points, including 25 in the first half, to lead host Baylor to an 86-58 win over Norfolk State in the season-opener for both teams on Friday night at the Ferrell Center.
Michigan transfer Ekpe Udoh added a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor (1-0), the 2009 NIT runner-up.
Preseason MEAC Player of the Year Michael Deloach paced the Spartans (0-1) with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Dunn was a one-man show in the first half, scoring 25 of his team's 48 points. He was 7-of-11 from the floor, hit all three of his 3-point tries, and sank a perfect 8-for-8 from the line in the first half. Baylor attempted 19 free throws in the period, making 15, en route to a 48-27 lead.
Read more click here NSUSpartans.com.
Aggies Roll to Win Over Tornadoes
GREENSBORO, NC - North Carolina A&T sophomore Nic Simpson scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to lead the Aggies to a 92-63 win over Brevard College Friday night at Corbett Sports Center.
The Aggies were 15-for-39 from the 3-point arc with Simpson going 5-for-10 from that distance. Seniors Robert Johnson and Tavarus Alston added four 3-pointers apiece and finished 18 and 20 points respectively. Thomas Coleman secured his third career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. He also had five blocks.
The Aggies also forced 22 Tornado turnovers.
"I think the key was our full court pressure,'' said North Carolina A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. "If we had of played them in a half court set they would have had an opportunity to beat us. Our pressure got some opportunities to get out in the open floor. We want to shoot more threes on the break this year, and those turnovers allowed us to do that."
Read more visit NCATAggies.com.
SC State Edges Erskine 56-53
ORANGEBURG,SC-Senior guard/forward Jason Flagler tossed in 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while freshman guard Khalif Toombs chipped in 10, as South Carolina State edge out a close 56-53 win over Erskine College on Friday at S-H-M.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11 point lead, 32-21 off a Jason Flagler jumper at the 4:30 mark in the first-half. A 3-pointer by Khalif Toombs put SC State ahead 35-23 with a 1:27 left in the second-half. SC State closed out the half with a 36-26 lead.
A Jason Flagler jumper at the 8:41 mark gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night 17, 47-30. Erskine went on a 16-4 run to cut the lead to five, 51-46 off a Brandon Wright's 3-pointer with 3:41 left in the game. A Brandon Wright's jumper with 0:08 seconds cut the lead to three, 56-53.
Read the entire story at SCSUathletics.com.
WSSU Struggles versus Oregon; Ducks down Rams 94-43
EUGENE, Ore. - The Ducks of Oregon proved to be too much for the Rams of Winston-Salem State on Friday evening at MacArthur Gymnasium in Eugene, Oregon as WSSU turned the ball over 20 times and shot only 21 percent from the field as the Rams fell to 0-1 on the season in the first game of the Basketball Travelers' Invitational.
The Rams, playing in the first of three games over the span of 44 hours, started the contest with a 4-0 run en route to leading the Ducks 7-3 four minutes and 24 seconds into the first half of play.
However following a three pointer by junior forward McIntoche Alcius that gave the Rams their 7-3 advantage, Oregon would mount a 27-0 run over the span of 7:08 as the Ducks pulled ahead 30-7 with 7:58 to play in the half as they put the game out of reach for the upstart Rams.
Andrew Jackson ended the Rams' scoreless drought with a jumper following an offensive rebound of Shelton Carter's missed shot to give WSSU their ninth point of the contest, yet it was not nearly enough as the Ducks closed the half on a 26-8 run en route to a 56-15 halftime advantage.
Read more, visit WSSURams.com.